Allowed submissions

Directly linked, quality images with a strong connection to Space/Astronomy/Cosmology (must use the original source of image)

Informative and thought provoking self-posts

Discussions about outer space

Disallowed submissions

Submissions with no direct connection to Space/Astronomy/Cosmology. This includes "circlejerky" submissions or space-related art, with the exception of art from space agencies or historically-significant art.

Not entirely, it's a development suit that may or may not be used. Like was the case with the Mark III, I-suit, the AX-5, etc. The current plan is to further develop the Z1 design and eventually test it out on the International Space Station. Here's three more pictures of the Z-1.

One reason for this design is to avoid tracking lunar dust into your modules. It is nasty stuff, with lots of sharp glass particles, like volcanic dust, and will mess up equipment with moving parts, your lungs, and clog up filters.

By leaving the suit on a "porch" outside the airlock, you can avoid all that. Astronaut backs into a hatch, suit clamps on, then they slide out thru the hatch and re-pressurize the airlock. The suit is at lower pressure than the normal module, because high suit pressure tends to make it act like a balloon. So it is hard to bend hands and fingers.

I worked on a study at Boeing for using the existing Space Station module design for a Lunar base, and Lunar dust was the #1 design issue. We tested the modules at 1-g on Earth, and they operate at 0-g in orbit, so 1/6 g on the Moon doesn't present any major problems.

It was my first instinct to find out if it was a finalized design or not. I wanted to know the thought process behind it and all the benefits of the final choice. I like to know that the decisions are still being made well in NASA.

I'd imagine its in some sort of transition room, you wouldn't want it flailing around on the outside. But yeah it seems it docks to the ship so air contact is only ever made with the inside of the suit.

my thoughts exactly. Dust is a huge concern until you eliminate the issue. The only additional precaution might be a secondary seal between the back of the suit and the habitation module where someone inside could vacuum the dust away before breaking the seals.

this system does have the drawback of it requiring 2 people to seal however.

I think I saw on the rover designs that there was an aux hatch that was big enough to allow for entrance/exit without using the suitport. I assume this would be for emergency situations with only one person. Your suggestion for a secondary seal is good - I assume that something like that would be built in, kinda like a small airlock.

I thought we would be going more towards the sort of skin-tight suits, seen in sci-fi comics/manga in the future.

They would allow us not to brother with the complicated constant internal volume stuff that you have to deal with with the current balloon animal type of suits. Plus skin-tight suits would be not just more flexible, but also much sexier to look at.

It's called Velcro with adhesive backing and is placed inside the glass off the helmet. Or they can use the foam covering on microphone that. The bigger problem is when some thing else gets itchy their back or feet. That they just had to ignore for several hours before they can get the suit off.